Manchester United will be looking to continue their recent good form when they take on Aston Villa at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon.

United head into the weekend action sitting five points clear of fifth-placed Liverpool following their 2-1 win at Anfield before the international break.

That victory was the Red Devils fourth league win in a row and another tomorrow would put them in a great position to secure Champions League qualification for next season.

Louis van Gaal’s men should be confident of picking up the three points as Villa have won just one of their last 38 games against United.

However, Tim Sherwood has rejuvenated the Villains since arriving at the club and they moved three points clear of the relegation zone following back-to-back wins before narrowly losing out to Swansea before the international break.

Team news

United will continue to make-do without the services of Robin van Persie as the striker remains out with an ankle injury that he suffered back in February.

Chris Smalling is also a major doubt after being forced off during England’s draw with Italy due to sickness and he’s been unable to train this week.

Jonny Evans remains unavailable through suspension so Marcos Rojo is likely to be recalled in defence.

Luke Shaw is back in training but is still lacking match fitness so may only be named among the substitutes.

Aston Villa have been handed a major boost with Ron Vlaar back in full training this week and the skipper could come straight back into the starting line-up tomorrow.

Philippe Senderos and Joe Cole also returned to training this week but they may only be named on the bench, while Jores Okore will have his knee injury assessed ahead of the game.

Tom Cleverley is fit again but is ineligible to play against his parent club so he’ll miss out along with Aly Cissokho and Nathan Baker.

Likely Line-Ups

Predicted Score

Man Utd 2-0 Aston Villa: Villa have improved under Sherwood in recent weeks but I still don’t see them causing United too much trouble tomorrow. Van Gaal’s side were excellent in the first half against Liverpool last time out and if they play anything like that again tomorrow, they’ll ease to victory.

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